Angolan Elite Suspected of Fraud -- WSJ
March 30 2018 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
A son of ex-president and others are linked to an alleged
illegal transfer of $500 million
By Margot Patrick, Patricia Kowsmann and Gabriele Steinhauser
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (March 30, 2018).
The former Angolan president's son and a former central banker
are suspected of using accounts at HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard
Chartered PLC in an attempt to defraud the country's central bank
by transferring $500 million through these U.K.-based lenders,
people familiar with the matter said.
The prosecutor's office in Angola said the money was transferred
from Angola's central bank, allegedly to guarantee a $30 billion
financing deal, according to a statement posted on the government
website Wednesday.
According to one of the people familiar with the matter, a
document showed the $500 million went to a Credit Suisse account,
but that document was forged. Instead, the money turned up at an
account at HSBC, where it was flagged to authorities and frozen,
said the people familiar with the matter.
Earlier this week, Angolan prosecutors named as suspects in the
allegedly illegal transfer from the central bank, José Filomeno dos
Santos, the son of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, and
four others, including the former Angolan central bank governor,
Valter Filipe da Silva, according to the government statement.
Mr. da Silva couldn't be reached for comment, but has previously
denied wrongdoing. Representatives of Angola's central bank
couldn't be reached for comment. José Filomeno dos Santos couldn't
be reached for comment.
In a statement read during an Angola news-channel broadcast on
Tuesday, José Filomeno dos Santos, who until January ran the
country's sovereign-wealth fund, said he voluntarily reached out to
the prosecutor's office in late February "to collaborate in finding
the truth." He confirmed that he has been named on March 6 as a
suspect in the case. "Mr. dos Santos remains available to continue
to cooperate with authorities to completely and satisfactory
resolve this process," said the statement that the news presenter
read.
The documents that indicated the $500 million went to a Credit
Suisse account are now being investigated by the Angolan central
bank, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
In a statement, Credit Suisse said it "has no record of the
alleged fraud, which involved falsified documentation, and has not
received any funds in relation to it." The company also said it
"has provided available information to relevant law enforcement
agencies."
Standard Chartered said on Wednesday that the funds used in the
alleged attempted fraud came from the Angolan central bank's
Standard Chartered account. It said it is working closely with the
central bank and U.K. law enforcement.
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency said this week it is
investigating the "potential $500 million fraud" and that it froze
the entire sum in December. It said it is preparing to return the
money to Angola, while it continues its investigation in
cooperation with authorities there.
Both HSBC and Standard Chartered have previously been sanctioned
by authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere over lax money-laundering
controls, but in recent years have strengthened their ability to
detect such crimes, a necessity to avoid the possibility of losing
a banking license. The U.K. also has strengthened its financial
crime-fighting powers and was able to freeze the Angolan money
because of new laws that came in last year.
The prosecutor's naming of José Filomeno dos Santos as a suspect
comes at a time when Angola's new president, João Lourenço is
escalating a purge of family members and allies of his predecessor
from government posts.
José Filomeno dos Santos was named as chairman of Angola's
sovereign-wealth fund by his father in 2013 to oversee the
investment of $5 billion on behalf of the country. Mr. Lourenço
replaced the fund's entire board in January.
José Eduardo dos Santos, who remains the leader of Mr.
Lourenço's ruling MPLA party, stepped down in September after 38
years at the helm of the southern African country.
After ending three decades of civil war in 2002, José Eduardo
dos Santos oversaw an oil boom that turned Angola into the
continent's second-largest crude producer, behind Nigeria. Yet his
tenure was marred by allegations of nepotism and widespread looting
of public coffers while the majority of Angola's 30 million
citizens continued to live in poverty. Mr. dos Santos and his
appointees have denied the allegations.
In November, Mr. Lourenço dismissed Isabel dos Santos, one of
the former president's daughters and Africa's richest woman,
according to Forbes magazine, as the head of the state oil company,
Sonangol. Angolan authorities have said they are investigating Ms.
dos Santos in connection with missing funds from Sonangol. She has
denied the allegations.
Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com, Patricia
Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com and Gabriele Steinhauser at
gabriele.steinhauser@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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